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After spending most of the past couple of years at a
four-star
rank,
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) has
swayed enough top-performing CAPS members to earn an upgrade
to a more formidable
five
stars. A total of 1,076 members have given their opinion
on the pipeline operator, with many offering analysis and
commentary to explain their recent optimism.
Kinder Morgan is one of the largest pipeline transporters
in North America, serving customers like
Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and
Total . Many CAPS members like its ability to
weather the downturn, despite fallen commodities prices that
did more damage to other players in the energy sector. It
pulled in a strong third quarter, with lower costs and
improving earnings despite weaker revenue. All but one of its
businesses outperformed their 2008 third-quarter results.
CAPS members like the steady business it brings in with its
long-term fee-based contracts, and Kinder continues to
pay a solid dividend. Â
Future growth also looks good for the company. It recently
beefed up its natural gas footprint with the acquisition of
Crosstex Energy 's (Nasdaq: XTXI)
natural gas treating business, which Kinder expects to be
accretive to the bottom line right away, with good growth
potential foreseen. Its
Fayetteville Express project, a joint venture with
Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP) that it
expects to complete in 2011, has commitments from
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) and
BP (NYSE: BP). Its Midcontinent Express
Pipeline, also in partnership with ETP, recently
became fully operational, locked in with multiyear
contracts. And its Rockies Express Pipeline, with partners
Sempra Energy and
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), has nearly all of
its capacity spoken
for.                                         Â
Â
Do you think Kinder Morgan deserves its elevated status?
Add your thoughts in the comments box below on this page, or
head over to CAPS to
rate the
companyand check out all the information and opinions the
community offers, absolutely free.
This article was originally published as
A Big Upgrade for Kinder Morganon
Fool.com
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